


Become Human

by SilentStudies



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:28:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22002469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentStudies/pseuds/SilentStudies
Summary: Sometime in the distant future, the gene of Perfection is injected into all newborn children. Those without the gene, the Imperfects, are criminalized and have been denied even the most basic human rights.Namjoon is a Perfect who can’t seem to find his purpose in life. He changes from job to job, and he can’t seem to quite fit into the model of being a Perfect. He holds sympathy for the Imperfects, and resentment for the Perfects for many reasons. Namjoon often finds himself wandering the Imperfect districts on the outskirts of the city. It’s usually not that dangerous until one day he meets Jimin, the most dangerous of all Imperfects, the leader of the rebellion.
Relationships: Kim Namjoon | RM/Park Jimin
Comments: 14
Kudos: 43
Collections: Sub Alpha Joon Fest





	Become Human

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rravii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rravii/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Beautiful Perfect People](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7520995) by [lady_luck12](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_luck12/pseuds/lady_luck12). 

The shuffling of his shoes is the only sound permeating through the night. There’s no flowing water in the river he’s walking next to, the bank is full of trash. He can hear the midnight train faintly in the background, and when Namjoon looks up, there’s no moon.

He’s been stumbling around in the dark for a while, a little drunk on the fear of getting caught. The Imperfects had a curfew, but the Perfects do not. Namjoon is allowed to walk around in the night while the Imperfects hide in fear in their buildings, wide eyes watching Namjoon from the window. He supposes it might be strange for him to do this, but what else does he want to do with his life at this point? He got fired from his job today for “not reacting fast enough as a Perfect would in the same situation.” It’s all bullshit, and Namjoon has to go through it every single day. The unending amount of “Perfectness” he has to do every day is tiring. He wants nothing more than to spend a month lounging in his room watching shows on the approved system. But even that is boring. It always ends up with propaganda from our great Ruler on some shit Namjoon doesn’t even care about. 

Instead of wasting his life in a boring job, he’d rather explore the city, something he’s barely done since he was born. He was raised by his parents in an affluent district, went to an elite school, graduated early from college, and here he is in this mess he created for himself. His parents are Perfects, they don’t have the love and compassion Namjoon craves so badly. It makes Namjoon question himself, ‘Am I really a Perfect?’ And Namjoon does know he’s a Perfect. When he roams the outskirts of the city, sometimes the Enforcers scan Namjoon’s arm to make sure he’s a Perfect, a barcode embedded into his skin from birth.

Tonight, however, is the celebration of the great history of the empire, and Namjoon doesn’t care about it much, so he chose to take a train to the outskirts of the city. There’s only one train that does it, and it’s always very crowded, the outskirts of the city also have many Perfects living there, and some of the Imperfects that managed to get jobs in the city also take the train every day. The time Namjoon prefers to go out at night at around ten o’clock. And then he usually wanders around until five o’clock in the morning, taking the first train back into the city. Does this interfere with his daily schedule? Yes, of course, it does. Does he care? No, he does not. He finally gets to live his life; however, he wants, and he wants to take full advantage of it. But even that has a limit. If he wants money from his parents, he has to conform to their rules and the empire’s rules. He finds himself bargaining with his parents every few weeks about his hobby in visiting the poorer districts of the city. Because of his years of eloquence in schooling, he can easily provide a good argument to settle his parents’ nerves. That’s also how he easily gets hired into new jobs. Still, he ends up either getting fired or quitting after a month, always breaking his contract after a short period of him because he simply cannot keep up with other Perfects.

Namjoon stops by a bridge and crosses halfway, leaning onto the rusty rail and peering down at the garbage filling up the dry river. He hears something, not quite the wind but perhaps talking? He leans forward and down to try to peer under the bridge to no avail. Sighing, he gets back up carefully, he feels a cut on his hand from the rust, but Namjoon won’t get sick because he’s a Perfect. As he turns to his side, he sees a woman staggering towards him. He doesn’t feel fear, but an unease takes over his senses. He checks the time on his watch, a high tech thing that does practically anything a phone could do, so he only has the watch to guide his way in the night. It’s almost five o’clock n the morning, so he turns his back to the woman and starts to head back the way he came. The watch reads his mind and pulls up a map on its screen to guide him back to the train station. 

He swiftly walks away, keeping his ears peeled just in case. There had been some attacks in the area on Perfects, but because the Perfects heal so quickly, it was just to scare Perfects away. Namjoon does not plan on becoming a victim tonight, or this morning rather. Speedwalking to the station, barely needing the directions on his wrist, he makes it just in time for the first train. It’s very crowded in the morning until around nine o’clock, so he tucks himself into a corner by the door, the train is a limited express to the center of the capital, so he only has around three stops before Namjoon needs to get out rather than the thirty if he missed this train. Namjoon takes a deep breath, breathing in the clean, disinfectant scent of the clean train in the morning. People pack into the train, and Namjoon finds himself pushed even farther into the corner. It’s how it usually is, though, so he doesn’t think much of it.

Fiddling with his coat to find the pockets without elbowing anyone with his arms, he finds his notebook and pen and carefully extracts it from his pocket. He’s been on this specific train, in this particular cart, every day for the last six years. He sees many familiar faces, but whenever he sees someone new, he writes an entry on his journal about them. This is his sixteenth notebook out of all these years, and each notebook has around two-hundred pages. He fills a new entry every week, at least. The number of those who take the train decreases every day. Fewer Imperfects took it nowadays due to the empire cracking down on them. Namjoon doesn’t quite understand that propaganda that is blasted on every single television in the capital at eight o’clock every morning. Namjoon has taken to putting in earplugs and sleeping with the heavy covers over his head to block it out. It’s nice now that he has his own apartment he bought with his savings from all the jobs he had. He has enough to afford a whole year of rent. Due to his family, he was given a special discount, so it makes his life so much easier, but also inconvenient in some ways.

When Namjoon exits the train, he heads for the south exit. Luckily his apartment is a twenty-minute walk from the station, so he could get some exercise every day when he goes out to go anywhere in the city for any reason. Today, he’s practically sprinting down the sidewalk to get to his apartment to get some sleep. He has a job interview at two o’clock, and it takes thirty minutes by train, not counting the twenty-minute walk, then ten-minute walk to the company building according to his watch. So he has until around twelve-forty-five to sleep, and it’s five-ten in the morning, and he’s practically sprinting down the street. As soon as Namjoon arrives at his apartment building, he sprints up the staircase. Reaching his door, he puts his palm on the door handle and lets it scan his hand before it unlocks the door, and he swings it open crazily then throws himself into his house, quietly slamming the door behind him. The door automatically locks itself, and Namjoon breathes a sigh of relief. He sheds his clothes on the way to his bed, his pajamas carefully laid out on the mattress. He quickly changes into them and collapses onto his bed. In minutes, he falls asleep, succumbing to his dreams.

Namjoon wakes up very briefly at eight o’clock before scrunching his brow and turning over in his bed, away from the government-planted TV that is on his small desk, overlooking the room. He does a breathing exercise and feels the sweet feeling of sleep overtaking him, he’s grown to tune out the news broadcast. He was about to fall asleep when he heard something about the train station. Sitting up sleepily in bed, he peaks up at the TV screen, it shows a security camera recording of an Imperfect attack on the train. He barely processes the moment, too tired to think coherently. He suddenly tunes in, though, when they say that the trains will be suspended for the rest of today. Shit. How’s he going to get to his job interview? Suddenly he’s very awake. He pulls up to his laptop and looks up a written article on the news because he barely heard anything due to the sweet feeling of sleep. 

There are many articles published, but he prefers the news source that does subtle advocations for Imperfects. He carefully reads the article, looking for hidden meanings behind their words. They write in code sometimes, for Imperfect sympathizers that Namjoon had learned in his last year of college when he joined a secret club. He still talks to the people in that club, not every day but pretty close to it. In any case, he learns that it’s an attack from someone from the rebellion. Namjoon sighs. They also posted a video recording of the incident from a different angle. Namjoon slowly processes the video and blinks his eyes in disbelief. It’s the same woman he saw staggering earlier this morning. Namjoon shoulders slacken in shock, the laptop almost falling off his lap. If he had decided to stay on that bridge, would he have been attacked? Namjoon shudders, goosebumps on his arm.

He is a Perfect, he shouldn’t feel fear. But he knows this feeling, it is fear. It’s the same feeling he has after his dreams. He shouldn’t be having dreams either. Namjoon closes his laptop and pulls up directions on his watch. A hologram shoots up from its projector, and Namjoon views the simulation of the route the watch shows him. It’ll take him two hours to walk to the company building for his job interview, but does he really want to walk that far? Maybe he can take a bus. The watch reads his mind and shows several bus routes. The cheapest and fastest route will take one hour and sixteen minutes if all the buses are on time, and it will be costly but less expensive compared to everything else. Namjoon has a special train pass where he only has to pay once for four months of traveling without a charge to his train card, but he doesn’t have the same thing for buses because he had no need for it. Namjoon finds himself debating on whether or not to go to the interview. He needs the money, the job is very promising, and it will use skills he had honed since he was little, but Namjoon’s still shaken from the news, and he barely got any sleep. 

Namjoon snuggles back down into his covers and sighs. He closes his eyes for a brief second before he hears his alarm going off from his watch. Sleepily opening his eyes once more, he flips his wrist and views the time before feeling ice drip down his back. The ice isn’t physically there, but the feeling of dread caused it, Namjoon knows it. He sits up quickly but feels dizzy when he does so, slowing down, he gets up carefully from his mattress on the floor. He rushes to the bathroom to take a shower, using his favorite cherry blossom body wash and favorite rose shampoo and conditioner, he takes a quick ten-minute shower. By this time, it’s one o’clock, and he feels dizzy with stress. He dresses in the smart outfit that he picked explicitly for today, grabs his backpack filled with random necessities that Namjoon packed the night before he left to go to the outskirts of the city. Rushing out the door, he sprints to the bus stop and manages to get to it on time. Thanking himself for rushing, he anxiously waits for the stop he has to get out. He transfers three buses and barely manages to reach the company building on time. He enters the building and follows the signs for the job interview, and he reaches a waiting area and receives a number. Sitting down on a comfy chair, he anxiously waits for his number to be called. He tries to calm himself down, he is a Perfect, he shouldn’t feel like this.

Namjoon does a little meditation he learned from TV to chill, and when he hears his number called, he calmly walks into the room. When he sees the five interviewers, he takes a subtle deep breath and walks to the chair in the center of the room. At the same time, the other Perfects look down on what he assumes is his resume. Namjoon plasters a fake smile on his face and introduces himself. They ask him simply, non-invasive questions which he answers smoothly. He lets himself build confidence in his answers, and their stoic expressions don’t deter him. When they finished going through their randomized list of questions, he gets up carefully and exits the room. They said they’ll contact him through the system if he gets hired, and Namjoon mulls over the entire interaction as he beelines it to the restroom. Once there, he goes to the sink to wash his hands and put some water on his face to help wake himself up more. He felt like time was moving slowly, but he knew it wasn’t actually slow. 

Finally, he exits the company building, and his watch shoots a hologram up in his face before he was prepared to look at it. According to his watch, he has to take a different bus route this time, so he rushes to the bus stop and transfers five buses this time before sprinting home. He unlocks the door with his palm print and walks in, shedding his outfit to change into home clothes. Sighing, he picks up his clothes and throws them into his laundry bag to be washed later. The loose sweatpants and t-shirt feel much better than the outfit he chose to make himself look skinnier. Namjoon throws himself down onto his mattress on the floor and sighs at the feeling of cold sheets. Napping won’t hurt him, he has nowhere to be, trains are closed, and he doesn’t feel like spending a fortune to go visit the outskirts of the city tonight. He’ll just order some food to his door and call it a night. It’s only four o’clock, he has plenty of time to chill. Namjoon lets himself drift off to sleep once more.

When Namjoon wakes up, he knows he slept too late. Checking his watch, it’s twelve o’clock in the morning. He quickly taps through the apps on his watch for the food delivery and sees that most of his favorite places are closed. Frowning, he goes through possible options before closing the app. Standing up unsteadily, he makes his way to the kitchen and goes through his fridge and pantry. He has grapes, carrot juice, bread, tea, and chocolate. Namjoon sighs and grabs the tea and chocolate. He makes quick work of the tea; he has a heatable pitcher, so he fills it up with water and takes out a mug from one of his cabinets. The water heats in just under a minute, and he pours the water in the mug then puts a bag of tea in the cup, he starts munching on the chocolate while the tea steeps. Sighing, he takes out the tea bag after five minutes and puts it into a plastic bag so he could reuse it later. He takes a long sip of his tea, ginger tea. He makes it when he finds himself nauseous in the morning.

Peacefully drinking the tea and munching on the chocolate at a little table and chair he bought after his first paycheck, he gets a notification on his watch. He sets his arm down on the table to view it better. It’s from one of his friends, someone he met in that secret club. Why is Yoongi texting him so late? Yoongi just asked him if he was still awake, and Namjoon replied that he was. Suddenly Namjoon gets a call from Yoongi, and he picks up immediately.

“Hi, Yoongi. What’s up?” Namjoon questions Yoongi as soon as the call was connected.

“Nothing much. Do you want to go out and go to our favorite late-night restaurant? I haven’t seen you in a while,” Yoongi says with a gruff voice. That is a code talk, something is going down, and he wants Namjoon to be there, is what he’s really asking.

“Sure! Which one and what time?” Namjoon asks with fake enthusiasm. 

“The one by your apartment. Do you remember it? Kamimura Chicken? And it only takes around fifteen minutes walking to get there from your apartment, so meet me there in around thirty minutes?” Yoongi asks, and Namjoon understands with sudden clarity what’s going on.

“That sounds good! See you then,” Namjoon says, and Yoongi ends the call.

Namjoon barely remembers Kamimura Chicken, Yoongi rarely comes to visit him anymore. When he does, it’s usually at several different restaurants at around twelve to one o’clock in the morning. Yoongi is very lucky that the trains were closed; otherwise, Namjoon wouldn’t have gone since it’d take an hour to get back since the limited express trains end at ten pm and start again at five am. In any case, Namjoon is already dressed in comfortable clothes since he fell asleep before he could put on his pajamas, so Namjoon grabs his favorite black hoodie, glasses, and takes his little money belt which he obviously puts his money in, but also his virtual money cards and ID, and straps it around his stomach. He doesn’t need much else, so he exits his apartment and hears it lock behind him. His watch pulled up directions, and Namjoon follows it diligently. 

When the restaurant comes into view, Namjoon speeds up. He remembers this place now. He hasn’t been here in a while, but he does remember that both he and Yoongi enjoyed this restaurant. Entering the restaurant, he finds Yoongi sitting at a table by himself. He makes his way over to Yoongi and sits down across from him. Namjoon’s watch turns off the directions, and Yoongi doesn’t look up from staring at the table until Namjoon completely settles in his seat.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Namjoon states, eyes still misty from sleep. Yoongi doesn’t look like he’s slept well in a while, the bags under his eyes are more prominent than the ones he had in college.

“It’s only been two months, Namjoon.”

“Still, could’ve at least texted me more often. A person can get lonely sometimes,” Namjoon says with a slight whine. He sees Yoongi’s eyebrow twitch and Namjoon folds. “So, what’s up?”

Yoongi looks around carefully before settling his eyes back onto Namjoon. “Did you see what happened this morning?” Yoongi asks carefully. They’re the only ones in the restaurant aside from the graveyard shift employee manning the counter with their back to Yoongi and Namjoon plus the music that is muffling their words. Namjoon can see why Yoongi chose this restaurant. 

“I was actually at the exact same station at the same time when it occurred,” Namjoon admits in a whisper, barely heard over the music. Yoongi’s eyebrows furrow in thought.

“Did you perhaps see this person before you got to the train station?” Yoongi asks carefully.

“I did,” Namjoon responds confusedly as to how Yoongi knew that.

“I see… Listen, you need to do me a favor. Don’t go to the outskirts of the capital until everything blows over. Some shit is happening, and I don’t want you to get hurt,” Yoongi says darkly. Namjoon isn’t one to fuck around with fire. Sure, he likes the thrill of almost getting burnt, but this is something else. Namjoon already knows that he isn’t going to do what Yoongi has asked of him. He is concerned about the people living there, and if some shit is going down, he wants to be there to do something to stop it. Namjoon isn’t a hero, but he’s a Perfect, and that means he can do something. 

Namjoon pretends to mull it over, but he can tell Yoongi isn’t buying it. The server comes by with food Yoongi had ordered for the both of them to share. Namjoon picks up the spoon provided and eats his friend rice quietly. “You know I won’t do what you’re asking of me, right?” Namjoon says in-between of a bite.

Yoongi slows his hand from bringing up the noodles in his chopsticks. The noodles fall from his loosened grip, and Yoongi sighs. “I knew better than to expect you to not go, but you always have to be right. Like the ‘alpha’ male everyone makes you out to be. Namjoon, you don’t have to go to prove that you’re stronger than everyone else. Sure, you’re a Perfect, but that doesn’t excuse you from putting yourself and other people in danger. This is some serious shit going down, and it’s better if you lay off playing the hero card for once.”

Namjoon feels like throwing a tantrum. He knows Yoongi is right, but he feels something calling him to the outskirts, whenever the trains open again, he’s going. Whether Yoongi likes it or not. “I know you’re trying to look out for me, but paying for dinner, then calling me out isn’t how I wanted to start my day.”

Yoongi scoffs. “How would you want to have started your day? At least you are five bills richer than having to pay for this breakfast or dinner depending on when you’ve eaten last-”

“Yoongi,” Namjoon says, carefully setting his spoon on the table and raising both hands in the air to show that they’re empty, “We’ve been friends since college. I get you’re trying to protect me, but you know I’ve never really grown out of the mindset of wanting freedom. I mean, look at what my life is like now, it’s shitty going from job to job, getting fired from this one and quitting the next one. There’s nothing good about my lifestyle now, so it’s my hobby to ‘save’ people, especially Imperfects.”

Yoongi nods as if he understands, but Namjoon can tell he isn’t processing the information because Yoongi’s eyes keep falling open and closed. “That still doesn’t justify you going, but I know once your mind is made up, it’s hard to change it.”

Namjoon technically won the argument, but he still feels as if he lost. “Why are you so hostile today? Have you been getting enough sleep?”

Yoongi nods tiredly, and Namjoon hums and looks down at their cooled food. He brings a bite to his mouth and chews the food slowly. He is tired despite his nap, the interrupted sleep every day at eight in the morning kills him sometimes.

“Why haven’t you been sleeping?” Namjoon asks after a period of silence. Yoongi has been sipping on his water instead of eating. They coexist in silence, aside from the music playing in the background. The server comes by, and Yoongi takes the cheque. Namjoon doesn’t even bother reaching for it because he still feels pissy from their discussion. 

“I’ve found some intel about something, and I cannot sleep until everything is settled,” Yoongi says darkly. 

“You know, at this point, you’ll never sleep. Take a day off, close your eyes, and put relaxing music on. If you spend every waking moment worrying about something to the point where you don’t sleep, it’s the sign that something is really wrong, and you either need to sleep for sanity or talk to someone about it.”

Yoongi nods along with Namjoon but, to Namjoon, all Yoongi seems to be focusing on is the cash in his hand. Yoongi’s hand is shaking, and Namjoon frowns. 

“You realize you can talk to me anytime, right? I’m our friend, just remember that. I may not be the best friend, but I know a lot about your situation, and I will gladly help you when I have time outside of work,” Namjoon says more compassionately than any Perfect would typically say. 

“If you’ll help me, then please don’t go to the outer parts of the city for the next week or so, please,” Yoongi begs desperately. 

“Okay, fine, I won’t. But after that, you can’t complain,” Namjoon says decisively. Yoongi physically looks relieved. It makes Namjoon feel a little better seeing the tension melt out of Yoongi’s body. The server takes the cheque, and Namjoon starts fiddling with his watch, setting up directions back to his apartment. It’s two o’clock now, and Namjoon won’t hear about his new job for at least a week in a more optimistic mindset, but in reality, it could take a lot longer.

They part ways outside the restaurant. Yoongi goes towards the parking garage down the block while Namjoon goes in the opposite direction towards his apartment. Namjoon walks peacefully with the hologram flashing instructions in his face at every twist and turn. The walk back to his apartment is shorter this time, and Namjoon makes quick work of opening the door, entering, then locking it with the deadbolt behind himself. 

Namjoon finally changes into his pajamas and goes through his nightly routine of bathing and his skincare routine to keep his complexion fresh. He settles onto his mattress on the floor and looks up at the ceiling with his nightlight on. Wiggling around for something more comfortable, he slips his night mask on over his eyes and cuddles himself, falling asleep rather quickly after having food in his belly. 

Namjoon wakes up entirely at the news at eight o’clock, the loud siren from his TV screen jolting him awake unpleasantly. He sits up on his mattress and watches the news through heavy eyes. The trains are still announced to be closed to Namjoon’s dismay, and there is military development on the rebellion. Anything else was not as important to Namjoon as it would be to other people. If Yoongi wanted Namjoon to stay away, he would’ve anyway since the trains are still closed. 

Namjoon decides to go grocery shopping at ten when the store opens and makes a list of things he needs on his watch. The convenience store just down the street is open twenty-four-seven, so he decides to go there to buy garbage bags and random snacks for breakfast. Namjoon bundles up in warm clothes since it’s been cold recently and leaves. It’s around nine-thirty when Namjoon leaves with his heavy coat and backpack. On his way out, he found some bills in his mail slot, so he takes them with him to the convenience store so Namjoon could pay them at the convenience store along with the other things he’s going to buy.

The walk is short, and once he gets there, he grabs a basket and heads for the snack section first. He carefully selects chocolate melts and chocolate covered nuts and some other types of chocolate. He then goes and finds some garbage bags and puts them in his basket quietly. He lines up where the line tells him to, and the cashier beckons him to the counter. He hands them his bills and puts the basket on the counter so they could scan everything. With that, he buys everything with cash and leaves the convenience store happily knowing that he paid his bills. 

Back at his apartment, he drops off the snacks and garbage bag, then leaves again for the grocery store. He buys everything on his list and frowns at the expensive price when he checks out, but he guesses that’s what he deserves for procrastinating. Namjoon rushes home and takes everything out of his backpack and puts everything away. With that done, he grabs his favorite chocolate melts, sits down at the table and eats. After he’s done, he turns on the TV to the approved program for cooking recipes. He sits there and watches cooking videos when he receives a call on his watch. By reading the first four digits, he can tell it’s from the company where he applied to for a job yesterday. He decides to answer the call, carefully tilting the face of the clock towards his mouth for optimal usage.

“Hello?” Namjoon says as soon as the call is connected.

“Hi, is this Kim Namjoon?” The person on the phone says.

“Yes, I am he,” Namjoon responds formally.

“We would like to do one more interview with you today, is that alright?” The person asks politely.

“Sure? At what time do I need to be there?” Namjoon asks, walking over to his closet, looking for any clean formal clothes that are readily available.

“Is today at two o’clock okay for you, sir?” They ask. 

“Yes, of course. I’ll be there then,” Namjoon says, about to end the call when the person speaks again.

“When you arrive at the company, ask to see Park Jimin. He will be waiting for you.”

“Okay, thank you,” Namjoon says, finally ending the call. He only has one hour now to get everything together before he has to rush to get to the company building. However, Namjoon does not panic, he has everything together. He just needs to dress in his mock suit jacket and dress pants with a white dress shirt, put a tie on that, gel up his hair for a more suitable presentation, rub his favorite lotion over his whole body, get his backpack and go. He is definitely ready to get this job and meet Park Jimin.

**Author's Note:**

> So I really liked the prompt where it was enemy to lovers but I couldn’t manage to fit it in within 5k 😢 I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!


End file.
